FW
Due to rise in domestic prices which have made the natural fiber uncompetitive in the global market, India’s cotton export is expected to drop by over 10 per cent to 6 million bales in current year ending September. The country had exported 6.7 million bales (of 150 kg each) in the 2014-15 marketing year (October-September). Major export destinations include Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam.
According to Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) Chairman and Managing Director B K Mishra, so far, the country has exported 5 million bales. No further exports are taking place now because global prices are cooling and domestic prices are on the rise. Total cotton exports would be around 6 million bales in 2015-16.
The domestic prices have increased by Rs 1,000 per candy in the last few days to Rs 34,000-35,000 per candy. The rising price trend will continue for some time till the new crop comes from October, said Mishra.
Mishra added that the rates have gone up due to estimates of fall in domestic cotton production to 35.3 million bales in 2015-16 from 38 million bales in the previous year due to drought. Consequently, traders are not exporting cotton as they are not getting good margins in the global market and see better prospects in the domestic market, he said.
Much of the Indian cotton has been exported to Pakistan, which stood at 2 million bales so far this year, he observed. The CCI, which buys cotton from farmers when rates go below the support prices, said it has procured 8,40,000 bales so far this year.
According to industry sources, at least 218 western apparel companies have stopped buying cloths from about 103 Bangladesh garment factories after they failed to initiate workplace safety codes suggested by the Accord and Alliance.
Among the factories, 23 were supplying apparels to European fashion brands and 80 to North American buyers and retailers which are belonging to the Accord and Alliance.Terming the decision a 'harsh' one, industry leaders said that the move has forced the factories to wrap up production leading to jobless hundreds of workers.
The Accord and Alliance supported by European clothing brands and North American retail chains has been launching a joint effort to improve workplace safety in Bangladesh garment industries in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collapse on April 24 in 2013 that killed more than 1,100 people.
Responding to the development, said Faruque Hassan, Senior Vice-President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) that it is a worrying development when the local industry has initiated a major safety overhaul as per the suggestions from the global buyers. He said, most of the export-oriented apparel factories inspected by the inspectors from the Accord and Alliance have already initiated the task of workplace safety and rest of the factories will go with them soon.
Tunisia, the fifth-largest apparel supplier to Europe and the number two supplier for the French market, according to Tunisia's Foreign Investment Promotion Agency with textile and apparel exports totaled TD6.5bn (€2.9bn) in 2014 is now looking for talks on a new deal with the EU, its biggest trading partner, to pave the way for improved access to European markets. Opportunities to boost trade with Pakistan are also showing signs of promise as impact of global economic situation weighing on trading volumes.
Tunisia launched negotiations with the EU in last October with a view to securing a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) that has been in consideration since 2011.
The country has benefitted from a raft of association agreements since the late 1990s that have given the country tariff-free access to several EU markets, together with financial and technical assistance. However, the DCFTA is expected to offer far greater opportunities to improve trade flows by reducing tariffs on key Tunisian exports, such as agricultural products.
According to the European Commission, the EU is Tunisia's largest trading partner by far, accounting for 80 per cent of the country's imports and exports. Bilateral trade was valued at approximately €20bn in 2014.
Bangladesh’s textile industries, especially the spinning mills are facing stiff competition in marketing their produce as cotton yarns from the neighbouring India are making inroads into the country.
According to industry sources, a large quantity of Indian yarns is being imported in the country in both formal and informal ways and being sold at low prices pushing the country's spinning mills in a state of downfall.
To save the local industries from the unhealthy competition of rising import of yarn from India, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) urged the Commissioner of Customs, Benapole to strengthen their surveillance to check surplus and unauthorised entry of Indian yarn into the country.
According to industry insiders, everyday a large quantity of Indian yarn of various counts is entering into the country under the disguise of a very nominal amount of sanctioned imports. Excess amount of yarns and yarns of higher counts are being imported into the country with false declaration, said the memo of the BTMA sent to the commissioner.
As per BTMA, most of the spinning mills have been incurring big losses due to unabated import of Indian yarns through Benapole land port and many of them are on the verge of closure as their produce has remained unsold. Many of the mills have also reduced their production.
Bangladesh’s export earnings in July to April of the current fiscal year stood at $27.63 billion. A growth of 9.22 per cent from the $25.30 billionearned in the same period of the previous fiscal year driven mainly by a moderate increase in RMG export.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau data (EPB), the amount of the earnings is 1.95 per cent more than the $27.10 billion target set by the government for the period. The EPB data shows the export earnings in April stood at $2.68 billion or 11.82 per cent more than that in March and 0.41 per cent higher than the target of $2.67 billion for the month.According to the data, the earnings from the readymade garment export in the July-April period of FY16 amounted to $22.63 billion, which were 10.07 per cent higher than the $20.56 billion earned in the same period of FY15.
Experts and exporters have termed the export earnings growth in the first 10 months of 2015-16 satisfactory.
As per their assessment, improvement in compliance, technological upgrading, and gaining market share from China were the key reasons behind the growth. They said, after the Rana Plaza building collapse, entrepreneurs have made huge investments in the areas of compliance that helped the country regain its image. They said the Western buyers are now satisfied with the standard of Bangladesh’s RMG factories as they identify only a few factories as risky. At the same time, garment makers have undertaken technological renovation leading to improved productivity and increased supply.
According to a new World Bank report, Pakistan has been successful in establishing and growing its apparel manufacturing industry, however, more can be done to realize its potential as a regional hub and to continue to boost opportunities, especially for women and the poor.
The report, The Stitches to Riches Apparel Employment Trade and Economic Development, launched in Pakistan, is aimed at demystifying the global and South Asian apparel markets, estimating the potential gains in exports and jobs and identifying policies that can unleash country’s export and job potential compared with those of their closest competitors in the Southeast Asia region – Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia.
The report finds that it is important for South Asian economies to remove existing impediments and facilitate growth in apparel to capture more production and create more employment as wages rise in China.The successful manufacturers will be those who can supply a wide range of quality products to buyers rapidly and reliably, not just those who offer low costs.
China currently dominates global apparel trade but that may change in coming years due to the rising prices in China.
Grasim Industries has announced impressive results led by robust volume growth in all its businesses viz. VSF, Chemical and Cement. For the current quarter, consolidated revenue rose by 13 per cent at Rs.10,001 crore and EBITDA at Rs. 2,059 crore was higher by 24 per cent. Net profit (before EI) grew by 40 per cent to Rs.724 crore (Q4 last year: Rs.516 crore). For the full year, consolidated revenue was higher by 12 per cent to Rs. 36,637 crore. Consolidated EBITDA was up by 24 per cent at Rs. 7,025 crore and Net profit increased to Rs.2,387 crore compared to Rs.1,753 crore last year.
The Board approved Rs. 513 crore for brownfield expansion of Caustic soda capacity at Vilayat plant from 219K TPA to 363K TPA along with a Captive Power plant of 44 MW. The expansion is expected to be completed in around 24 month’s time. On completion of the proposed expansion and debottlenecking of capacity at various plants, Caustic capacity will increase from 804K TPA currently to 1,048K TPA.
Fairtrade International’s new Textile Standard comesinto play to improve working conditions across the textile supply chain in the month of June, but the Clean ClothesCampaign says it targets the wrong organisations and does not go far enough.
The textile industry has been underpressure to regulate working conditions since the collapse of the Rana Plaza incident in Bangladesh in 2013. The building housed several clothing factoriesand the disaster killed more than 1,100 people and injured over 2,500.
The Textile Standard is the first stepin the larger Fairtrade Textile Programme which assesses all stages ofproduction. If all measures are met along the chain, the product can carry aFairtrade Textile Production Mark on its packaging.
According to Martin Hill, interim CEO at FairtradeInternational, they are inviting all textile companies to work togetherwith their staff and with Fairtrade to create a fairer production process fortextiles.
Fairtrade saysthe move goes far beyond any existing standards, and SubinduGarkhel, product manager for cotton at Fairtrade, said it would not rely solelyon audits, with an onsite programme to support workers and factories.
The six-year implementation time forliving wage was described as a “realistic approach”. Factories must showimprovement from year one, then again in year four, and at the end of year six.If the living wage was in place immediately, it would punish the companieswilling to take it up by making them uncompetitive.
In a significant move, Levi Strauss & Co. has promoted Roy Bagattini to the role of executive vice president and president of Levi Strauss Americas. In his new role which takes effect from June 1, Bagattini will be responsible for leading the San Francisco company’s largest commercial operations, covering all brands and channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the balance of Latin America.
Previously, Bagattini served as Levi’s executive vice president and president of the company’s Asia, Middle East and Africa operations. Prior to joining Levi Strauss three years ago, Bagattini was a senior vice president for Asia and Africa at beverage and brewing company Carlsberg, where he was responsible for the group’s Asia strategy and was credited with the company’s significant growth in that region. In 2015, Levi’s had $4.5 billion in net revenues with net income of $209 million.
"The circular economy gives us a chance to create a new story for the global economy. Recycling has a place within that story, but rather than simply eking out our materials a bit further, a systemic shift based on circular economic principles offers greater business opportunity, and the potential to decouple growth from finite resource inputs."
Many businesses have invested in recycling practices that seem like a natural starting point for more involved circular economy activities. Characteristics of a circular economy suggest that more fundamental shift required to decouple growth from finite resources and move to a circular development path.
As per the circular economy, there is a fundamental shift in the way resources, energy and information flow through our economy. A key characteristic of this framework is that products and components remain at their highest levels of integrity and performance.
The perception is that a circular economy is just ‘recycling on steroids’ - recycling more stuff, and doing it a bit better. This confusion is understandable. Since the 1970s, recycling has become synonymous with ‘doing good.’ What’s more, many businesses have invested in recycling practices that seem like a natural starting point for more involved circular economy activities. However, the characteristics of a circular economy - and existing research - suggest that returning a product to the material level would be ‘the loop of last resort,’ with a more fundamental shift required to decouple growth from finite resources and move to a circular development path.
The real opportunity
Economic analysis conducted by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and McKinsey & has demonstrated how, in a circular economy, greater value can be obtained by operating in the ‘inner loops’ of a technical cycle. Activities such as sharing, service, maintenance, refurbishment and remanufacturing preserve the integrity of a product. We often hear about how a company has recovered a product and then processed the materials so they can be used as a resource. But think about it - by returning a product to its constituent materials you lose all the energy, labour and expense that went into creating it in the first place. In some cases, the recycling process may even be more costly than extracting virgin resources. This can severely undermine recycling efforts - in the current context of depressed commodity prices.
Consider that recycling is a generic term, with a range of possible nuances. More often than not, emphasis is placed on post-consumer recycling. This shifts responsibility to the public, but also misses the point. A significant amount of waste is generated at the extraction and production phase when making new products - another reason to suggest that the real opportunity might lie elsewhere.
Real opportunities for higher levels of valorisation exist in the ‘inner loops’ of a product cycle and it is here that businesses, users and governments can really start to see the benefits of a circular economy. In fact, studies have suggested that seizing these types of value creation opportunities wouldn’t just achieve a one-off dent in resource demand, but could actually change the run rate of required material intake. The pursuit of this circular economy development path could see European GDP increase as much as 11 per cent by 2030 and 27 per cent by 2050, compared with 4 per cent and 15 per cent in the current, linear development scenario.
Recycling, a necessity
At some point products and components will break down, and it won’t be possible or sensible to keep them in service any longer. At this point, a recycling option will be necessary. Even then, we need to rethink the process. Widespread legislation on recycling rates has encouraged businesses to look to end-of-pipe solutions, and whilst these are often commendable, they naturally revolve around making do with the scraps at hand. Frequently this means dealing with stuff designed in a linear, take-make-dispose mindset. Toxic materials, integrated design and irreversible adhesives are all design choices that can get in the way of positive and scalable recycling activities.
The ‘New Plastics Economy’ report, released at the World Economic Forum, revealed the scale of material leakage from today’s plastics system. Even when we can recover dispersed materials, current recycling techniques rarely preserve all the material. For example, around 80 per cent of recycled PET bottles are turned into polyester fibers for carpet, clothing and other non-packaging applications. With paper recycling, fibers diminish after six or seven cycles, and they can no longer be used for paper production. Important progress is being made, but this still represents significant material losses over time. To truly optimise resource flows, future pathways should be considered at the design phase. In the Towards the Circular Economy report series, this is summarised by ‘the power of pure inputs.’
The circular economy gives us a chance to create a new story for the global economy. Recycling has a place within that story, but rather than simply eking out our materials a bit further, a systemic shift based on circular economic principles offers greater business opportunity, and the potential to decouple growth from finite resource inputs.
